How to grow Healthy Seedlings

Sunday, March 16 2003 @ 04:17 AM

Contributed by: Admin

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How to grow Healthy Seedlings - Source: sherrysgreenhouse.com

1. Set up seed starting area with adjustable fluorescent shop lights.

2. (optional) Soak large round seeds in a bowl of warm water for a few hours. Smaller or flat seeds can be presprouted on damp paper towels in a closed plastic bag.

3. Prepare planting containers, fill with fresh potting soil and water soil with warm water. Place these smaller containers in a flat or any shallow container to facilitate handling.

4. Plant seeds and mulch top of soil with a thin layer of perlite. Label your containers with plant variety and date!

5. Cover the entire flat filled with planted, mulched & labeled containers with a plastic dome fitted to the flat or just use a large plastic bag (close the bag). If using a bag, use wire or sticks to hold the plastic away from the surface of the soil.

6. Place the flat over a seed starting heat mat. This is optional, but will certainly help your seeds sprout fast and well. You will get a certain amount of residual heat from the fluorescent lights when they are on. If your seed starting area is already in a warm room, your seeds will do well enough without the heat mat.

7. Adjust your fluorescent lights so that they hang just above the dome/plastic bag. Set the timer so that the lights are on 16 to 18 hours a day (but no more). Some seeds need light to sprout. In any case, you want the seedlings to have plenty of light available as soon as they sprout.

8. Check the flats at least once a day. The minute you see sprouts above the soil surface, prop up the edge of the dome (or open the end of the plastic bag). Set up a small auxilliary fan to ensure good air circulation.

9. The next day after the first sprouts appear, remove the dome or plastic bag entirely. Adjust the fluorescent lights so that they are just an inch or two above the plant leaves. Be sure that fan is still running. Brush the leaves of the plants with your hand whenever you think of it. That and the "wind" from the fan will encourage stocky growth.

10. Be sure to keep the seedlings watered, but not swamped. I use a water bottle with a pop-up top which allows me to water each cell or cup individually. If the soil seems too dry for that type of watering (or you have too many seedlings to be giving them that level of attention), set the containers in a non-draining flat with some lukewarm water for a little while until the soil has wicked up enough moisture. (If containers are too dry, watering overhead will just run off the sides.)

11. As soon as true leaves develop, start fertilizing with a half-strength solution of fish & kelp emulsion. (The plants are delicate at this point, so I usually apply the fertilizer with a spray bottle.)

12. As the seedlings grow, they will begin to touch their neighbors. That is the time to pot up to a larger size container.
If you started with larger containers to begin with, you will be able to delay (or even avoid) this.

http://www.mygardenpatch.com/20030316041743696.htm

	How to grow Healthy Seedlings - Source: sherrysgreenhouse.com
1.	Set up seed starting area with adjustable fluorescent shop lights.
2.	(optional) Soak large round seeds in a bowl of warm water for a few hours. Smaller or flat seeds can be presprouted on damp paper towels in a closed plastic bag.
3.	Prepare planting containers, fill with fresh potting soil and water soil with warm water. Place these smaller containers in a flat or any shallow container to facilitate handling.
4.	Plant seeds and mulch top of soil with a thin layer of perlite. Label your containers with plant variety and date!
5.	Cover the entire flat filled with planted, mulched & labeled containers with a plastic dome fitted to the flat or just use a large plastic bag (close the bag). If using a bag, use wire or sticks to hold the plastic away from the surface of the soil.
6.	Place the flat over a seed starting heat mat. This is optional, but will certainly help your seeds sprout fast and well. You will get a certain amount of residual heat from the fluorescent lights when they are on. If your seed starting area is already in a warm room, your seeds will do well enough without the heat mat.
7.	Adjust your fluorescent lights so that they hang just above the dome/plastic bag. Set the timer so that the lights are on 16 to 18 hours a day (but no more). Some seeds need light to sprout. In any case, you want the seedlings to have plenty of light available as soon as they sprout.
8.	Check the flats at least once a day. The minute you see sprouts above the soil surface, prop up the edge of the dome (or open the end of the plastic bag). Set up a small auxilliary fan to ensure good air circulation.
9.	The next day after the first sprouts appear, remove the dome or plastic bag entirely. Adjust the fluorescent lights so that they are just an inch or two above the plant leaves. Be sure that fan is still running. Brush the leaves of the plants with your hand whenever you think of it. That and the "wind" from the fan will encourage stocky growth.
10.	Be sure to keep the seedlings watered, but not swamped. I use a water bottle with a pop-up top which allows me to water each cell or cup individually. If the soil seems too dry for that type of watering (or you have too many seedlings to be giving them that level of attention), set the containers in a non-draining flat with some lukewarm water for a little while until the soil has wicked up enough moisture. (If containers are too dry, watering overhead will just run off the sides.)
11.	As soon as true leaves develop, start fertilizing with a half-strength solution of fish & kelp emulsion. (The plants are delicate at this point, so I usually apply the fertilizer with a spray bottle.)
12.	As the seedlings grow, they will begin to touch their neighbors. That is the time to pot up to a larger size container. If you started with larger containers to begin with, you will be able to delay (or even avoid) this.